Friday, March 24 2006 19:57 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: In the wake of raging controversy over the office of profit issue, veteran CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu today (Mar 24 2006) said Parliament should define it while side-stepping the question of party MPs resigning on that ground.

"Parliament should decide on the law." Basu told sources outside the CPI(M) office when asked to comment on the controversy which led to the resignation of Congress party President Sonia Gandhi yesterday.

Basu, however, sidestepped a question whether CPI(M) would ask its MPs to resign following the demand by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

He simply said "Parliament should decide."

The TC chief had earlier demanded resignation of Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and 10 other CPI(M) MPs, alleging that they were holding offices of profit in West Bengal.

Mamata has already written to President A P J Abdul Kalam and the Election Commission seeking action against the CPI(M) MPs.

Basu's comment came on a day when the CPI(M) urged the government to quickly decide on the 'office of profit' issue while emphasising that the post of Chairperson of the National Advisory Commitee, which was held by Sonia Gandhi, was not one.

The party also said that the post of Chairman of the Shantiniketan-Sriniketan Development Council held by Somnath Chatterjee for the last 17 years was also not an office of profit.

CPI(M) had earlier categorically said that its MPs would not resign from Parliament.